The Long Way Home

“And when he came to himself. . . He said, ‘I will arise and go to my father.’” (Luke 15:17, 18)

Have you tried taking matters into your own hands? Is your life spinning out of control? Have poor decisions led you down a path far from where you should be? What will it take for you to come to your senses?

Jesus told a story of a man with two sons. The younger wanted his share of the inheritance before his father died, and surprisingly the father consented. The young man packed up his belongings and traveled far from home. It wasn’t long that he wasted all his money with foolish living; he was homeless and starving. He would have gladly eaten the food he was feeding the pigs, but the owners offered him none. That’s when he finally came to his senses. Knowing the servants at his father’s house had plenty of food to eat and willing to become his father’s servant, he left the pigpen and headed home.

While the famished, exhausted son was a great distance away, the father saw him. Did he watch every day, hoping for his return? Filled with love and compassion, he ran towards his son, embraced him, and kissed him, disregarding the filth. As the wayward one confessed his sin and unworthiness as a son, his father interrupted him and called for servants to bring a robe, ring, and sandals. With the robe, the father covered evidence of where his son had been, and the family’s ring was a symbol of restored honor. The shoes soothed his sore, tattered feet; the son no longer resembled a barefoot slave. The father called for a feast, a party for his lost son, now found. Love reinstated the son in seconds.

What a beautiful picture of repentance and God’s saving grace: A wayward soul returns (or comes for the first time) to our heavenly Father, waiting with open arms. With love, compassion, and no questions, God embraces the wayward one. His righteousness covers the evidence of a sullied life; He sets his feet on the path of freedom, no longer a slave to sin’s bondage. The lost, now found—home, rescued and restored by his heavenly Father. He is a child of the King, and there is a grand celebration, for there is joy in heaven when even one sinner repents (v. 7, 10).

Taking the long way home is costly. Go home, child; your Father is waiting for you.